Gijón

The schools in Logroño had a random Thursday off in the middle of October, which ended up giving us a four-day weekend because we don't work Fridays. Some of us had been wanting to take a weekend trip for a while, and this ended up being the perfect weekend to travel for the first time since arriving in Logroño. We decided to go to Gijón, a beach town in northern Spain. The five of us woke up early on Thursday morning and took a bus to Bilbao, where we had a one-hour stop before our second bus - this ended up being a great way to quickly see the city! We saw the giant dog made out of flowers and the Guggenheim (although unfortunately we didn't have time to go inside, so I will definitely be returning to Bilbao this year), and grabbed pastries at a coffee shop as we hustled back to board our second bus.

When we arrived in Gijón, we ate dinner then walked on the beach and watched the sunset. We stayed on the beach for a while talking and eating ice cream, then we got hungry again so we headed to a local bar for tapas (where I found a piña colada! In Spain! Amazing) before going back to our Airbnb to watch Ratatouille.

On Friday morning, we woke up early and went to the Picos de Europa (Peaks of Europe), which is a beautiful mountain range that our friend John really wanted to see (he was a geology major in college). There wasn't a bus from Gijón to the Picos, so we rented a car and drove three hours there. Luckily, one of our friends had spent a week teaching herself to drive stick shift in preparation for Spain, so we were able to rent a car fairly easily. When we got to the mountains, we hiked to a castle on a hill and drank from a natural water fountain, which was very exciting after a hike in the hot sun. We had a picnic lunch by the river then hiked to a small waterfall, where we watched a stranger bungee jump. The rest of the people in my group were debating bungee jumping as well, but I was pretty carsick from riding through the mountains and knew that bungee jumping would be a horrible decision. I was excited about the possibility of watching them, but they ended up deciding against bungee jumping, and instead we sat on the hood of the car and drank wine.

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On the way home, we drove through a lot of small towns and ended up having to wait because the road was blocked by several cows and goats wandering down the mountain. We were laughing and trying not to panic as we frantically rolled up the crank windows (which feels like a very slow process when a cow is trying to stick its head into your car). Everything turned out fine, but it was definitely something I won't forget!

Even though we were exhausted from hiking all day, on the way home we decided to stop in Oviedo, a smaller city that is famous for its alcoholic cider. Apparently during festivals, they pour the cider down the streets, but unfortunately we didn't get to see that! We did have a delicious dinner and it was fun to see how they pour the cider - the waiter holds the cup at waist level and raises the bottle above his head, then he pours it without even looking at the cup (the restaurant floor was pretty sticky, but I kept that opinion to myself). This is supposed to aerate the cider, and they only pour about an inch at a time so that the cider doesn't "settle." After the first bottle, I decided that I didn't enjoy such a stressful drinking experience (you have to finish it as they walk by so they can pour it, so you only get about a sip every few minutes) and ordered a soda instead of a second bottle. It was very fun to watch, and I'm glad we decided to swing through Oviedo to see the sidrería and the cathedral!

Saturday was very relaxed - we spent the day at the beach, then visited an outdoor market and the ruins of some ancient Roman Baths. I thought the system was fascinating, and I asked the guide a lot of questions. We learned that everyone was allowed to visit the baths regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic status, but that men and women bathed at different times of the day (women in the morning, and men after work before dinner). The baths are set up as a series of rooms, and you have to go in order. The first room was an exercise room, where you could hang up your clothes after running, playing ball, or lifting weights. The next bath was a cool bath to rinse away the sweat from exercise and apply oil to your skin, and the final bath was a hot bath to actually get clean. After the final bath, the moderately wealthy would often pay for a massage or for an additional hot bath before heading home. The wealthiest people had private baths in their home, which only their family members were allowed to use. Going to the Roman Baths was definitely my favorite thing that we did Saturday, and I took a pamphlet home with me so I could look up more information once I got home.

On Sunday, we ate breakfast before catching a bus back home to Logroño. We stopped again in Bilbao for about an hour, but Lexi and I were starving so we decided to go to a restaurant instead of trying to see more of the city (definitely worth it, that was the best hamburger I've had in Spain). We got home late on Sunday night, happy and exhausted. It was a great trip and I'm glad we got to see a place in Spain I had never heard of before!